Luna and the Lie

by Mariana Zapata

Familiar, long, and tattooed fingers crept over the top of my hand and stayed there, brushing the LOVEYOU bracelet I’d put on that morning. Lucas Ripley’s voice swept over me as he said, “I don’t know what’s going on with your sister, but you tell me if there’s something I can do. You’re not alone, you hear me?” I pressed my lips together and nodded. But he wasn’t done. “You’re not, Luna, and I gotta tell you, you don’t need to be letting anybody run all over you or try to get away with shit—” “I don’t do that,” I cut in. It was only because of the soft face he gave me, all those normally harsh features without tension for once, that I didn’t let his words, or what he was implying bother me. “All I’m saying is, you don’t have to take shit, and you need to quit believing you do. Think about that, all right? Have fun with your sister but think about what I said.”

Period bae